Jacome plaza Tucson Meet Yourself

People watching at “Tucson Meet Yourself”

There were a lot of people to watch this year at “Tucson Meet Yourself“. On Saturday it was packed. There were more food vendors this year, too. The line waiting for churros was too long, so I had famous Turkish strawberry ice cream instead. The dance stage, as always, was fun. The music — maybe it was my poor timing — but the music this year was disappointing.

So I’m going to post about Tucsonans and more Tucsonans. Some cosplaying, some not.

Adaptive Sports –new!

At the intersection of Stone and Pennington, the Southern Arizona Adaptive Sports basketball team was showing off their stuff. I’m not sure if there are men’s and women’s divisions, but in these scrimmages there were both men and women. In the Olympics the wheelchair basketball games are very exciting. Who knows, maybe one of these players will end up an Olympian. A volunteer with the group mentioned they have children’s after-school programs. They offer adaptive cycling and other sports, too.

Male fashion statements

This batman was the most extreme cosplayer at Tucson Meet Yourself.

Holy Batman! That man in the Batman costume must have been melting, even though he had a big smile on his face. The temperature was in the 90s. I chased after the guy in yellow and green but it wasn’t until I got home that I noticed the man to his right was also wearing a more subtle, color-coordinated outfit with that plaid shirt and pants. And then, No. 3 in this line-up is “I’m the nicest Asshole you will ever meet.” He looked a little like Bill Murray.

Now for a group photo…

This was the image that told me Tucson Meet Yourself this year was going to be about people. It was the first group I came upon as I turned the corner onto Stone. They are a good cross-section of people who live in Tucson.

And women’s fashion statements…

The burgundy-rust color hat with beading was extraordinary. Her dress looks interesting, too, but she was seated when I came across her so I don’t know what the entire outfit looked like. In the center — a sheer chartreuse-green long skirt with a midnight blue peplum style top. And No. 3 in this gallery is a woman with neon green/yellow saguaro cactus earrings.

Random is good…

If someone was passing out awards for the best meet-cute at the festival, this couple under the umbrella would win. Seconds before I took this photo, they were leaning forward and kissing. Many of the local tribes had booths, including this one for the Oodham nation. And, what more can I say: a rainbow dress is always in style for the under 12 crowd.

Will you die of climate change?

In the midst of it all, were the young women of the AZ Youth Climate Coalition, with signs asking serious, provocative questions. Given that it was 90F degrees in mid-October with more hot weather to come, one wonders if there will be Tucsonans meeting other Tucsonans a decade from now. I already know one couple who left Tucson because of the heat.


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